


Nore'i

by ajwolf



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Animal Ears, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 19:38:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15056306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajwolf/pseuds/ajwolf
Summary: A Fantasy AUYuuri has always been in love with his best friend, Viktor, but he can't help but wonder if he's good enough - for Viktor, or for his fate.





	Nore'i

**Author's Note:**

> There is a bit of violence in this fic, however I feel it's not too graphic. No graphic descriptions of blood or gore. Also the characters do have some animalistic features, but there is no sex, nor is this meant to be a furry piece. They're just Yuuri and Viktor with some ears and tails.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Yuuri’s feet grip the tree bow beneath him, toes curling wide in a stabilizing fan on the narrow foothold. He considers himself lucky to have inherited his more cat-like feet from his father; his mother has always had trouble in the trees due to her more human-like ones. Yuuri thinks his are a fairly perfect combination – longer than average toes and retractable claws that allow him to keep his grip even on the thinnest of branches, while still giving him the comfort of wearing boots on long treks if he so chooses.

His balance is provided by his long, sleek tail, which currently hangs out behind him, a counter weight to keep him from toppling over as he holds out his bow, watching the deer graze on the forest floor below. His ears twitch, listening for the slightest sound as he silently pulls back his bow, and with a swift prayer, lets loose his arrow.

A perfect hit.

He is on the ground in a moment, vaulting out of the tree and quickly moving to the animal, ending it’s suffering with cool efficiency before covering its eyes and thanking it for its gifts. It’s a Great Deer, much larger than the ordinary variety that live near the village. Its meat will feed his people for several days, maybe a week, depending how they use it, which is quite a feat considering the appetites of the Bears.

There is just one, small, problem. Actually, it’s a huge problem. Yuuri is strong – the jaguar blood in his veins gives him sharp eyes and even sharper teeth. He can move with agility better than any human, and easily lift nearly double his body weight.

But the deer weighs at least five times what he does and there is simply no way he can get it back on his own. He ponders the situation, idly toying with the idea of butchering it here and hoping someone else comes along…he supposes that is his best bet.

A cry from above him has his ears pricking and he quickly looks up in concern, only to break into a wide smile.

“Makka!” he calls out, lifting his arm for the falcon to land on. She pecks his cheek affectionately and shuffles up his bicep, settling on his shoulder, looking eagerly toward his kill.

“Let me butcher it and I’ll give you some scraps,” Yuuri assures her. “Then I’ll need you to go back to the village; I need some help carrying this.”

“Of course you do,” a voice Yuuri should have known would be trailing Makka calls out, and Yuuri can’t help but smile to himself. “You always come hunting alone and take down the biggest game without pausing to consider how to get it back. You really should ask on of the Bears or Wolves to help you, Yuuri.”

“Good thing you’re here then, right Viktor?”

He grins over his shoulder at the man coming towards him. Viktor is the heir apparent to the Wolf clan, and there is no question as to why when you look at him. He is beautiful and tall, with long, silver hair that trails nearly to his waist, skimming over the base of his equally silver tail. It was far bushier than Yuuri’s and currently swaying back and forth in a relaxed manner that has always had a rather hypnotizing effect on Yuuri’s nerves. He’s spent many a lazy summer day dozing off to the soft flick of Viktor’s fluffy tail.

Viktor’s ears are perked up out of his hair in two distinct points, both listening for any sounds of danger, just as alert as Yuuri’s own rounded ones. With a people as varied in appearance as theirs are, it is rather remarkable that the two of them actually carry so many similar features, despite being of two different clans.

There are four major clans, with half a dozen smaller ones in-between. From towering bears, to the smallest of mice, the Nore’i come in all shapes and sizes. He and Viktor are some of the more human looking of his people, so much so that with a cloak the two of them could easy pass through a human town without drawing attention. Yuuri’s father is head of the Cats and took Yuuri to the nearby human villages on several occasions; many of which Viktor tagged along on. Wolves don’t generally leave the woods surrounding the village, but Viktor was always curious, and if there’s an opportunity to spend time with Yuuri, he’s always game for it.

They were asked by the humans they met how their people came to be, and the answer was as simple as it was vague: Magic. The spring at the center of their village is infused with some of the purest magic one could find, and overtime, the people and animals who drank from it began to change until they were one people: The Nore’i.

“Just because I’m a wolf doesn’t mean I can carry that whole thing,” Viktor’s reply interrupts Yuuri’s thoughts, as his friend sinks down beside him, pulling out his knives. Yuuri has long, retractable claws, allowing him to hold his own in a fight, with or without weapons; but Viktor has no such weapons. Instead, he arms himself with a pair of long, thin knives. They are more like small swords, really, and Viktor is a beautiful angel of death when he wields them. They each take one of the knives and set to work, slicing open the Great Deer, and handing a bit of the scrap to Makka as reward for finding Yuuri.

“I thought you were supposed to be on patrol today?” Yuuri asks quietly as they work. Wolves are the foot soldiers. They fight in groups to defend the village or take on group hunts aiming for the largest of prey. They are a highly social bunch, and it’s a rare thing to find a wolf on his own, unless that wolf is Viktor.

“Don’t tell Yakov,” Viktor says with a wink. They work in silence for a long while, quickly working through the animal’s tough hide, careful to preserve every ounce of useable meat, while cleaning away the inedible bits that could ruin the whole thing. “I love my clan, but sometimes they’re just…too much.”

Yuuri nods, understanding completely. The Wolves are _always_ in each other’s business; they are a loving family, no doubt, but Yuuri has always thought that it must get awfully loud in their dens. He is glad he is a Cat – his clan is far more solitary, hunting and tracking alone or in pairs, far away from home, sometimes staying gone for days at a time. While Wolves defend from just outside their home, Cats defend from afar. They are the ones who can spot trouble coming from miles away, and report back to the Wolves, giving them time to mount a defense.

After the Wolves are the Bears, the last line of defense. They are more than warriors though; they are the spiritual leaders, guarding the most sacred of places to their people. They don’t stand at the front gates, but instead they’d stand within, and woe to any who try to get past them.

Their job seems simple, but it’s made far more difficult by the back door – the portal that they believe might be the source of the holy spring’s power – the portal to the other realm.

There should be nothing to fear from it, the people from below guard the other side, and they are good friends, but there is always a chance…and so the Bears stand watch, ever mindful, ever wary.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Viktor whispers, leaning in closer, his crystal blue eyes darting around cautiously.

“You know you can,” Yuuri says softly. “Cat, remember? Don’t have anyone to tell, except you.”

“Hush, you have friends and you know it,” Viktor huffs, poking Yuuri in the ribs. It’s an old argument Yuuri knows he will never win. “You know how I’m coming of age soon?”

Yuuri nods. Viktor and he are only a few months apart in age. The Rabbits are always teasing them about how the moment they’d carried Yuuri into the nursery, Viktor had tottered up and claimed Yuuri as his own. They’d been best friends ever since.

“Are you scared?”

Viktor shakes his head. “Not about actually coming of age. I already know what’ll happen with that,” his eyes dart to Yuuri as a small blush creeps along his cheeks, Yuuri can’t help but swallow. Coming of age meant reaching sexual maturity, it meant mates, family, love; but it also meant…

“I don’t think I can choose to join the Wolf clan.”

Yuuri stares at his friend in stunned silence. Viktor is the most beautiful and gifted of all the Wolves; the entire clan has assumed for years he will lead them someday. “What do you mean?”

Viktor bites his lip. “I love the Wolves, they’re my family, but I don’t want to be fighting all the time.”

“What do you want to do then?” Yuuri asks. He knows better than to question Viktor’s surety. If Viktor says something to him, he means it. It’s always been this way. The clans are called that for just this reason, after all. If they were considered families, it’d be much harder to leave the group to which you were born. But clans are more fluid, allowing you to still love the family that raised you, while finding a new purpose and home in your chosen clan. Most stay with their clan simply because usually Cats want their solitude, Wolves want to fight, and Bears want to protect. Maybe Viktor wanted to be a Cat; it would suit him reasonably well…

“A Rabbit.”

Yuuri blinks in surprise. Rabbits are the last of the major clans, and it is their job to protect the future, or in other words, the children. Rabbits cared for all the young in the nursery, and even handled the majority of their early training until they were old enough to join the clans they were born to. They didn’t fight, at least not much. In some rare cases when something had slipped in, the leader of the Rabbits would hold them off until the others could ferry the children to safety and call in the Wolves, but the vast majority never once raised a fist.

Now that he really thinks about it, Viktor would be a perfect leader for them.

“I didn’t know you liked kids that much.”

“Neither did I, it’s just something I’ve grown surer of in the past year. It’s why I’ve been ditching my assignments; the closer I get to my coming of age, the more wrong being a Wolf feels.”

Yuuri ponders this. Based on this, he should start feeling a certain wrongness to what he was doing to. He didn’t…

“I can tell what you’re thinking, and don’t bother. You’re a Cat through and through,” Viktor teases.

Yuuri sighs, finishing the last of his work on the carcass beneath him, pulling out his claws in preparation for lifting it. He hopes between he and Viktor they can manage, at least till they got closer to home.

“I think you’d be a great leader of the Rabbits,” Yuuri says softly, meaning every word.

Viktor blushed but doesn’t argue. “You’ll lead the Cats someday.”

“What? No I won’t!”

Viktor giggled, “Yes you will! Your dad’s the leader now! I know it doesn’t always pass down, but I mean, look at this kill!” He grunts as Yuuri hefted half of the carcass onto Viktor’s shoulders before grabbing his own flank. “You’re one of the best of the Nore’i; they might even send you off to live with the humans for a while. You’d be a great scout.”

Yuuri blanches. “Why would I do that?! I don’t want to go live with the humans! I don’t want to leave yo–.” He cuts himself off before he embarrasses himself by confessing his longtime crush on his best friend. He is determined to keep it silent until they both came of age. He doesn’t know why he doubts Viktor, they’d been together forever, but friendship doesn’t always lead to mates.

He’s afraid to risk it, and maybe Viktor is too. Neither of them has ever said anything.

But of course, Viktor can read him, as usual. “Even if you have to go away, I’ll be here, waiting for you,” Viktor whispers, and Yuuri suddenly really wishes they don’t have a giant deer on their shoulders. He wishes they were of age. He wishes he was braver. “You’re the best tracker and hunter in the clan. If we need eyes and ears outside, you’ll be the first choice and you know it.”

Viktor pauses and looks straight ahead; “And you know you’ll want to go.”

“Viktor…”

“No, it’s okay. My place is here, with the village. If anything ever happened, I would be the last one to leave. You’re right, I don’t care that I’m a wolf walking into a rabbit hole, I will lead them someday, and I’ll give my life to protect them if I have to.

“But you aren’t like that, and that’s okay. You care as much about our home as I do, but you won’t wait for trouble to come to us; you’ll go out there, and find it, no matter where or what it is.”

There is no arguing; Yuuri knows it is true. They walked in silence before Yuuri quietly speaks, “Let’s just hope no trouble comes then, yeah?”

Viktor grins. “Yes. I mean, it’s been peaceful for ages, so in all likelihood, you’ll never be far.”

“Right,” Yuuri agrees.

“But if you do have to go, you should take Makka.”

Makka chirps at her name and Yuuri stares at Viktor, nearly tripping over his own feet (something he hasn’t done since he was a cub). He digs his claws into the ground to catch himself. “I can’t take Makka! She’s your bird!”

“Who _you_ trained. She’s really _our_ bird by now.”

“Only cause my falcon…” he couldn’t say it. Two orphaned falcon chicks found in the woods. They were given to Yuuri and Viktor to try to save. Yuuri hunted down small prey for them while Viktor kept them warm and cleaned their feathers. It was no one’s fault, but Makka lived, and the other died.

Yuuri would have named him Vicchan if he’d survived.

He doesn’t like to think about that.

The path into the village appears before them and Yuuri sighs in relief; the kill is getting heavy and they’ll likely come across someone soon who could help.

“I’ll take Makka if I have to leave,” he agrees quietly; “if only so I’m always able to send word back to you.”

Viktor stares straight ahead, a wide, heart-shaped smile on his lips; “You thought I’d let you take my falcon for any other reason?”

Yuuri snickers and hoists the kill higher on his shoulders. “Shut up. Let’s get home so you can sing my praises for this excellent kill to the whole tribe.”

“You know me so well.”

 

**Six Years Later**

Yuuri walks slowly along the path towards his village though the meadow. It is late at night, and while his eyesight is keen, he is far too tired to walk recklessly, even on a path he’s traveled so many times. His latest scouting had him out for weeks and his body is aching. He’s glad this path is smooth and flat compared to the one through the woods; he’s not sure he has the energy to remember all of the places where roots poke up through the dirt, ready to trip any unwary traveler.

He’s matured since coming of age, and the markings on his tail have fully grown in. He likes the dark grey spots on his black tail, so subtle they can almost go without notice. There’s a bit of fur at the back of his neck now too, and it blends in seamlessly with the human-like hair on his head. He’s grown his black hair out, and while it’s still nowhere near the length of Viktor’s, he likes having a bit of a mane around his shoulders. It’s dotted with a few braids Viktor had given him before he left on his latest scouting. Yuuri runs a finger over one of the silver beads Viktor had woven into one of the braids and smiles, happy once again for the gentle reminder of his mate’s love.

But something sinister has been stirring in the world, as if some evil lies just beneath the surface, and not even Viktor’s handywork can fully calm him these days. The humans feel it too; he spent a few days with the witches searching the Great Woods for the source, but to no avail. He’s going to have to go back out much sooner than he’d like – the Witch Queen’s brother wanted to talk, and as head of the Cats, it was his job to meet with any outsiders who wanted to greet his people.

Yuuri didn’t get all the details, but apparently the man and and his people know the meaning of this unease that crept along Yuuri’s spine day in and day out for months. Yuuri’s senses are far more sensitive than any others in his clan, or even in his whole village, and it’s up to him to protect them. If the Witch Queen is telling the truth, her brother is one of the last of the Realm walkers, and they are the best source for information on what _this_ is.

Their people were nearly wiped out by it twenty years ago, after all…

Yuuri shudders, recalling the stories they told. If such a thing came here, nowhere would be safe.

He picks up his pace, eager to be home, to wrap Viktor in his arms. He was away from his mate too long, and with the sense of unease clinging to his back, he is eager to settle it with the feel of Viktor’s skin against his own. Maybe they’d relax in the spring together since it was unlikely many would be awake at this hour.

His tracking senses are raw after weeks spent in that damn forest, and while he left the forest behind, the unease it had given him was only growing stronger with each step he takes closer to home. He breaks into a jog, unable to quiet the unease. The entrance to the village is just in sight when he hears the screams.

“Shit!”

He takes off at a run, whistling loud between his teeth, calling for Makka. He’d sent her ahead and he can feel her nearby, pelting towards him as she obeys his call. He feels her dive and he lifts his arm to receive her. As soon as her claws find purchase, she begins chattering in his ear in a series of quick chirps and clicks. He doesn’t need her to ‘speak’ to know her thoughts; their connection has only grown over the years to an almost telepathic one, which allows them to communicate through far more than words. He doesn’t really understand how it had happened, but sometimes magic was just funny like that.

He supposes it’s no wonder he was made clan leader.

“The Portal?” Yuuri exclaims as Makka finished relaying what she’d seen in the village from above. Something had been coming from the portal; something dark and deeply unsettling.

Their back door was opened.

He is sprinting now, making full use of his strong legs, propelling himself along the path. He is nearly there now. “Where’s Viktor?”

Makka chirps and Yuuri curses. Of course, _of course_ Viktor is right in front, buying everyone time. If the Bears at the portal fall, Viktor is next in line to stand against the onslaught – a beautiful and terrible bastion of war.

Yuuri skids into the Village, nearly tripping over a small rabbit family that is running towards safety. A couple of Bears are pelting  towards the portal, but Yuuri knows which way to go, not to the portal, but the nursery. Viktor would have started there, and Yuuri is sure he’s there still, pushing back against the invaders. There’s no point going to the portal yet because Viktor will be at the front, and no one will be closing it off without Viktor.

It’s not that the Bears aren’t strong, they are just slow, and rituals and magic take time; time they obviously don’t have.

Yuuri leaps into the air, using the treetops that provide shelter within the village as a quick path to his mate. He can see the pulse of the Portal in the distance. Why oh why did the nursery have to be so close to it? Magic or not, this was foolish.

Then again, no one had ever breached the portal before; what were the people Below doing? He sighs to himself, knowing they are probably doing the same as the Nore’i – trying to survive.

He knows them well now, having met them several times since he became clan leader. Their people are as strong and proud as his; they would never let the Portal fall without good reason. He says a silent prayer for their safety.

The nursery comes into view and Yuuri’s heart soars as he spots that familiar curtain of silver hair. Viktor is standing at the mouth of the passage before the nursery, slowly moving forward, closer and closer to the Portal.

Viktor, that terrible, courageous, _gorgeous_ fighter, whirling his blades faster than the eye could see, cutting down one attacker after the next. Around the corner, the Bears are pushing back trying to converge with Viktor. Yuuri smiles at the fact that his mate alone stood stronger than five Bears.

He nocks his arrow and takes a breath. Whatever this enemy is, it is horrible to even look at, and the smell! Bodies made of flesh and rot, swirling with miasma thick enough to choke on; all of them converging on Viktor.

The string snaps and before the arrow even lands, he is releasing another, thinning the herd before they reach Viktor or the Bears. He sees Viktor whirl towards him for a split second, face lighting up with a grin as he returns to his work, moving impossibly faster as he slices through enemy after enemy.

Yuuri loves his mate so much, that silly wolf.

He lets loose his arrows, focusing on the Bear’s side until they too are pressing forward. Behind them stood the leader of the Bear clan, staff outstretched as she chants her magic. The portal is already shifting, and Yuuri knows it is only a matter of time before she’ll seal it. It won’t be closed for good, but her barrier would crush any who exited without Nore’i magic for a time. The people Below would still be safe if they came – friends carried items with Nore’i magic for just these circumstances.

Slowly, the Bears press ever forward, until finally, with a blast of magic that nearly knocks Yuuri from his tree, the portal seals. Yuuri swears he can feel explosions of malice as the barrier glows, destroying any who try to pass through it from the other side. Yuuri generally has great respect for life, but he feels no regret over the deaths of these…creatures.

He clicks his tongue at Makka, who flies off as he stows his weapon and jumps to the ground, landing beside Viktor. With a menacing grin, he draws out his claws and charges forward, into the fray to help clean up the rest of this mess that threatened his home and his mate.

“Welcome home,” Viktor greets, his blade shearing off the head of one of their attackers as easily as cutting through grass.

“I missed you,” Yuuri calls back as his claws tear apart the flesh of another.

“Me too. You have perfect timing as usual,” Viktor teases, taking out two more with a single stroke.

“What can I say, it’s a gift,” Yuuri says with a laugh.

“Is this REALLY the time?” Takeshi roars from beside them. The Bears are finally level with them, and Takeshi, who is one of Yuuri’s best friends, is the biggest of the lot. His wife, Yuuko, is already training to lead the Bears someday; her magic is incredibly powerful and Yuuri is glad she’d be stepping forward sooner rather than later. Dangerous times required dangerous people. As big and frightful as Takeshi is, Yuuko is a greater force to be reckoned with.

“Of course it is,” Viktor quips. “My mate is home; I have to greet him.”

“I will never understand you two,” Takeshi grumbles, crushing three of the monstrous enemies under his huge front paws. Takeshi really is more bear than man, and its moments like these where that is even more apparent.

Within minutes the clearing falls quiet, save the sound of their heavy breaths. The Bears are already moving to guard the portal once more, ever wary, while the Wolves begin to report in. A young Wolf with fierce green eyes reports that the few that had slipped by earlier have been dealt with and there are no major injuries. They’d been lucky. Yuuri feels his legs give way, exhausted after the long journey and sudden sprint.

“Have you ever seen anything like this?” Viktor asks, sinking down beside him and leaning against him. They both needed a bath, and had Yuuri the strength, he would carry Viktor to the spring. He’ll be lucky if he doesn’t need Takeshi to carry him; his whole body is completely drained.

“No, but I’ve felt them.” He replies in a tired voice, eyes fluttering closed as he rests. “The Great Forest is full of that same malice they seem to excrete, but we never found them. I suppose this explains it. There must be a portal in there, somewhere that not even the witches know about. If they weren’t there already, their magic must have been seeping through.”

“You’re going to have to leave again, aren’t you?” Viktor asks softly, and Yuuri feels a cheek nuzzle against his chest.

“Yes. The witches and the other humans are aware of this. If the Below is compromised…”

“More of these things could be popping up everywhere.”

Yuuri nods, cracking his eyes open to meet his mate’s gaze. “I wouldn’t go, let their people protect them, but I feel like if I don’t stop them there, like we did here, it’ll only be a matter of time before they come back. If going out there protects you, then I have to do it.”

Viktor smiles up at him, eyes full of understanding. “I understand, and I’m not surprised.”

“Forgive me?”

“Of course,” Viktor whispers, kissing him softly. “You’re my mate; I told you, didn’t I? I’ll always wait for you.”

Yuuri smiles, bumping their foreheads together. “I promise I’ll return to you, my mate.”

“I know,” Viktor says with a soft sigh.

They stay there, filthy and exhausted, but neither willing to move or to be separated for even a moment. They both know that all too soon they’d be parting again. As long as they stay here, on the ground, resting against one another, time can stand still, but it cannot last. Evil had come to their world, and they both know there is no turning away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading everyone. 
> 
> This fic is very special to me because it is a ‘prequel’ to a world I’ve been creating for a while now. I’ve been writing little stories like this one to help me define the characters and suss out details about the different people of the world. For this particular fic, I inserted our beloved Viktuuri because doing so allowed me to ignore certain details and just focus on building the world.
> 
> This fic describes the beginning of the incursion of ‘evil’ in their world. After the events of this story, Yuuri’s character will set off and join forces with several humans (and a few other non-humans) to fight back. I know there was a lot of world info in a very short space of time, so I hope it wasn’t too confusing. Basically, this fic was really just meant for me, but I decided to share it because it’s a world I really love and it was a lot of fun imagining Viktuuri within it.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!


End file.
